A/N: Couldn't help myself. Alright, this will be a long one. Very long. It'll pretty much follow the manga's timeline to a T. Dialogue was taken heavily from the manga and from the anime, but the endgame is all mine.

Disclaimer: Tadatoshi Fujimaki is the true master here. Thanks for a lovely premise, fun characters, and great series.

WC: 5,000

1. I Am Kuroko

Taiga Kagami sighed and folded his hands behind his head, blinking slowly as he stood towards the back of the crowd of people. He had no real expectations for the year; he only hoped that the basketball team at Seirin High wasn't too awful.

Dozens of high schoolers milled about like tiny ants, and as usual, Kagami towered above the vast majority of them. He internally sighed and began walking.

No hope here.

Then, Kagami noticed three boys in the middle of the walkway, desperately brandishing flyers at any male who happened by. As he drew closer, he was able to hear their words: "Basketball! Basketball club!"

Kagami made his way through the crowd of animated teenagers and stopped in front of the nearest of the three guys.

"Are you guys in the basketball club?" Kagami asked, feeling the final vestiges of his hope shrivel up and die in his chest as the boy stared up at him with immense trepidation.

"U-uh…yes? Yes! We are," the boy stuttered out eventually. For a few moments, his oddly-shaped lips formed words and no sound escaped. "I'm Koganei, this is Izuki, and that's Mitobe," he introduced himself after a few more moments. Kagami did a quick once over of the shorter, smiling boy and the taller, silent boy. "Are you interested in joining?"

Without a word, Kagami single-handedly lifted Koganei up by his collar to his own eye level. "Direct me to the booth."

Dumbfounded, Koganei complied, petulant tears leaking out of his eyes as he did so.

The basketball booth seemed to be run by a small, short-haired girl and a very average-looking boy with glasses. As Kagami approached, Koganei still in hand, he caught the tail end of their conversation.

" – wonder how the recruitment is going? I hope they bring in some promising new guys…" the girl said, gazing around the area.

At this point, Kagami had reached the booth, and he silently presented Koganei to the pair sitting at the table.

"I brought a new student," Koganei said, voice wobbling as he attempted to maintain some degree of dignity. Kagami stifled the laugh that bubbled up in his throat.

The girl looked up and made an odd choking noise.

"Is this the basketball club?" he asked instead, glaring down at the pair. Just to be sure. Maybe these guys aren't really it.

"Yeah," the girl replied after a short, strained pause.

Damn, he thought as he stared into the girl's unsettled face.

"I want to join," Kagami answered, carelessly releasing his vice grip on Koganei's uniform and proceeding to forget that he existed. "The basketball club."

A small smile formed on the girl's face as Kagami slumped down in the tiny folding chair. He grunted uncomfortably, backing up so as to not smash his knees up against the underside of the table.

"Welcome!" the girl exclaimed. "I'm sure you know our school is very new," she started, handing him a small cup of tea. "We barely opened last year. All of the upperclassmen are second years, so someone with your build will likely – "

"I don't really care about that," Kagami interrupted. "I'll just sign my name on the paper and leave, thanks."

Why do I even bother expecting anything?

After doing just that, he pushed away from the table, crushing the paper cup in his fist in agitation.

"But wait!" the girl said. "You don't have any goals to write down?"

He stood, rolling his eyes. "Not really," Kagami said. "After all, basketball is the same everywhere in Japan." For show, he tossed the squashed paper cup over his shoulder and into the waste basket next to the table without looking.

Briefly glancing over his shoulder, Kagami caught the eye of the clearly offended girl sitting at the table. Seems like this school is a waste of time.

She looked surprised, and he continued walking away, just catching Koganei's wail of despair. "He's terrifying!"

Kagami smirked.

A few days later, Kagami found himself standing in the middle of Seirin's not-so-impressive gym, looking around at all the guys interested in the basketball team. It was a less-than-desirable turnout – only eight or nine guys.

"Alright, looks like all of the first years are here!" the girl from the booth declared. She turned to the upperclassman standing next to her – Izuki, Kagami dimly recalled – and they exchanged a few words, gesturing to the group.

A couple of guys started whispering about her from the back. "That manager's pretty cute, yeah?" one said, smirking. His friend replied, but Kagami couldn't quite make out his words over the din of the other people in the group chattering.

The first one mumbled petulantly, "Too bad she isn't sexier, though." Kagami rolled his eyes. Idiots.

Suddenly, the guy with glasses from the entrance ceremony appeared behind the two, smacking them each in the head with slight agitation. They groaned, voicing their discontent. Echoing Kagami, he barked, "Idiots – you're wrong."

Smirking, the girl stepped forward and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm the boys' basketball coach, Aida Riko. It's nice to meet you all."

A unanimous disbelieving gasp echoed around the gym, and then several guys began speaking at once.

Oh, hell, Kagami thought despondently, ignoring the whispering. If this chick is the coach, then there really is no hope.

Suddenly, the coach yelled, "Take off your shirts!"

Kagami followed her instructions passively, but as he did so, he experienced the strange feeling that he was being watched, even though all the other guys in the lineup were groaning and stripping.

He watched her as she moved down the line, emasculating each and every freshman without remorse by telling them their weaknesses. Kagami listened with a slight bit of interest as the upperclassman with the glasses explained how her odd skill had developed from observing her father's work.

Then, she stopped in front of him, seemingly speechless.

"What?" he said irritably.

Still, she continued to stare. As he watched her watch him, beginning to feel mildly uncomfortable, a bit of drool slipped out of the corner of her mouth. Kagami winced internally, pitying her.

"Hey, Coach?" the guy with the glasses called eventually. "Why are you still looking? Didn't you see everyone?"

Riko flushed slightly and stepped back, brushing a quick hand over her chin. "S-sorry! So…"

"That guy was last," the boy answered.

Coach Riko looked confused and vaguely disappointed. "Really? Didn't anyone see Kuroko?"

As a short, frenzied conversation broke out about some middle school called "Teikou Junior High" that the fabled "Kuroko" had attended, Kagami shivered. He was feeling the odd sensation of being watched again.

"Could he be the phantom sixth player that no one ever saw?" someone proposed.

This instigated a brief bout of contemplative silence.

"I guess he's off today, then," the coach said to herself eventually. She then addressed the entire room. "Well then, let's start practice – "

She was cut off by a soft voice. "Excuse me…" Kagami's head turned so fast to his right that he almost got whiplash. Standing directly to his right was a short, blue-haired boy who Kagami was 95% sure had not been there for the past few minutes.

Kagami swallowed thickly, startled, and the boy finished. "I am Kuroko."

It was then Kagami realised that the strange feeling of being scrutinized had probably been because of this kid.

The upperclassmen all looked shocked. "When did you get here?" one asked.

Kuroko's facial expression didn't change in the slightest. "I have been here the whole time."

Kagami watched as the upperclassmen swooped down upon him like hawks, suspiciously questioning his skills and experience. "There's no way you were a regular. Right, Kuroko?" one of them asked doubtfully.

"Well, I have played in matches," he answered, to everyone's astonishment.

Kagami was confused as to what the "Generation of Miracles" was that everyone was talking about. They seemed to be held in such high regard, so naturally he was curious about it. Although I doubt that they're really anything to get so excited about.

Of course, the coach wanted him to remove his shirt like everyone else (although Kuroko – and Kagami figured that he was the only one who had heard him – had mumbled that he'd done it along with everyone else) had done. Kagami didn't have high expectations for the boy's tiny stature. His suspicions were proven correct when he found himself staring at a pale, hardly toned and thin figure.

Not athletic in the slightest, Kagami thought disappointedly. His arms aren't bad, though. I can't really gauge his skill level.

He carefully watched the coach's face for her reaction, and – not that Kagami was the most observant, but – she looked even more perplexed.

As the coach walked away to start practice, Kagami looked back at Kuroko, only to find the much smaller boy already staring up at him with blank, baby-blue eyes.

What the hell is with this guy?

Slightly unsettled, Kagami jerked backwards and turned to join the practice with the rest of the first years.

Later that evening, at Maji Burger, Kagami wondered about the Generation of Miracles. From what little that he had gathered, the Generation of Miracles seemed like a seriously epic group that Kuroko had been part of in middle school. However, Kuroko's appearance and lack of physical prowess during practice seemed to suggest otherwise. Suffice to say, Kagami was pretty baffled.

He scanned the small restaurant, and eventually, Kagami's eyes landed on an empty table next to the window. He set his duffle bag down and frowned, feeling a strange sensation on the back of his neck.

As he sat down with his tray at the small rectangular table and began eating, Kagami thought, Well, I hope that they're as strong as everyone seems to think.

Something in Kagami's peripheral caught his attention, and he turned his head away from the window to look towards it.

He choked on a morsel of ground beef and clutched his chest when he found Kuroko, nonchalantly sipping on a shake and sitting in the chair opposite him at the table.

"Hello," Kuroko said, talking around the straw in his mouth and casually bookmarking his page in the book he was reading before carefully setting it down on the table. Kagami gaped as the boy continued speaking, eyeing Kagami's mountain of cheeseburgers. "I see that you're still growing."

"W-what…when the fuck did you even get here?" Kagami stuttered once he got his breath back.

"Oh, I've been here the whole time – people-watching," the blue-eyed boy responded as if it were nothing important. He kept his azure gaze steadily on Kagami's, and the taller boy began feeling awkward.

How could this creep be one of the best basketball players in Japan?

For a long while, the only sounds that could be heard from the table were Kagami's ferocious chewing of the many burgers once piled on his tray and Kuroko occasionally sipping his drink as he continued to unabashedly observe Kagami.

"A-anyways, why don't you take a walk with me?" Kagami asked eventually, on one of his last three burgers. "Once I finish eating, I mean."

Kuroko nodded blankly and wrapped his lips around the straw again.

Kagami took Kuroko to the nearest basketball court, stopping just in front of the net and slinging his duffle bag onto the ground. "You – what the hell are you hiding?"

Kuroko didn't answer, but he somehow managed to convey confusion without changing his facial expression even the slightest bit.

Kagami sighed and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. Looking down, he grumbled, "I was in America until the second year of middle school. So I was pretty damn upset when I got back at how low the standards are here."

Kagami felt irritation course through his body as he stared into the blasé gaze of the boy before him, and suddenly, he found himself yelling. "I'm not looking to play basketball for fun," he spat heatedly. Kagami's fists clenched involuntarily, and he looked down at them, unseeing. "I want to play serious matches that - that make my blood boil with excitement!"

Kagami abruptly realised that he was looming over Kuroko, who still had yet to say anything, and that he was breathing ridiculously heavily, heart thumping almost painfully against his rib cage.

He paused a moment and stepped back, lips twitching into a smirk. "But I heard something interesting earlier. Apparently, there's a group of strong guys called the 'Generation of Miracles' in our age group." After a pause in which Kagami waited for a response that wouldn't come, he continued. "You were on that team, weren't you?"

Before Kuroko could respond, Kagami turned and grabbed a ball out of his duffle bag, tossing it to Kuroko, who only looked mildly startled as he barely managed to catch it.

"Thing is," Kagami said as Kuroko glanced down at the orange ball in his grasp. "That I can usually guess at the strength of an opponent. Stronger guys usually have a certain…feel to them, you know?"

"You're weird, though. Just looking at you," Kagami said somewhat caustically. His eyes roved over Kuroko's form, clothed in the typical school uniform buttoned all the way up his neck. "I can see that you should feel really weak. But for some reason…I can't read you – at all. It's like… you don't even seem to have a presence."

Kuroko looked up, meeting Kagami's eyes again with a subtle knowing light.

"So show me. Show me the supposed strength of the Generation of Miracles," Kagami demanded of Kuroko.

The sound of a slider moving through hundreds of plastic teeth broke the silence – Kuroko was unzipping his jacket. "What a coincidence; I've been thinking about playing against you too," he finally said blandly. "One-on-one."

Kagami felt a fire burst to life in his chest at the admission, and he couldn't stop the crooked smile that spread across his face.

However, from the very first shot he took and as the minutes dragged by, one thing became abundantly clear to Kagami.

Wait – this guy is...desperately weak!

Kagami was even more perplexed than he had been before. He stopped running and simply watched Kuroko chase a ball off of the court, suddenly wondering what the hell was going on.

Even with such a small body as his, it's possible to become a great player through skill and not size. But this kid doesn't even seem to have mastered the basics!

He has absolutely no good qualities – there's no point in continuing this match.

"Were you even listening to me?" Kagami roared abruptly, stopping Kuroko in his tracks. "You were way overestimating your abilities if you thought you could beat me. And after you sort of impressed me with that challenge, too!"

Kuroko tilted his head, confused. "Kagami-kun, do you think I'm an idiot?"

Yes.

"Obviously, you're stronger than me. I knew that before we started," Kuroko said very matter-of-factly.

Immediately pissed off, Kagami grabbed Kuroko by his collar and pulled him up to eye level. "What the hell were you doing, then? You wanna die?" he snarled, spittle flying onto Kuroko's pale cheeks.

"I just wanted to see for myself how good you were," Kuroko replied calmly. Kagami immediately dropped him back onto the concrete.

What?

"What?" Kagami asked.

This was pointless, Kagami thought as Kuroko tossed the ball between his hands uncertainly. I must be insane. Obviously, he has no presence because he's just that weak.

"Forget it," he grumbled aloud. "I have no interest in playing against weak players."

Kagami turned back towards his duffle bag and picked it up, slinging it and his jacket over his shoulder. "I'll tell you one more thing, though," he said, disappointment clouding his mind and saturating his tone. If this is the strength of the Generation of Miracles, then what's the point?

"You should quit playing basketball." He waited for the expected indignation, anger, something, but no reaction was forthcoming from that blank face.

"You can say all the shit you want about 'your best effort', but the fact of the matter is that you need some basic talent to really get anywhere. And you have absolutely no talent for basketball," Kagami said very candidly.

With that, he turned around and began to leave the court, only to be stopped by Kuroko's next words. "Sorry, but I can't agree with that."

"What?" Kagami replied, turning to look over his shoulder. That passive mushroom just said 'no' to me?

"Firstly, I love basketball," Kuroko said in that point-blank tone that really pissed Kagami off. "Secondly, it's a matter of opinion."

Kagami fully turned around to glower at Kuroko, who was focused on packing up his own bag. He started to open his mouth to argue, but Kuroko cut him off.

"I don't care about strength or weakness," Kuroko continued, staring right up into Kagami's irritated eyes quite plainly.

"What did you just say?" Kagami growled, taking offense to his words.

Kuroko stepped closer, angling his head back to keep his penetrating gaze on Kagami's face. "I'm very different from you, Kagami-kun. I am a shadow."

Kagami could not stop his eyebrows from shooting upwards at this, and he reached up to run a hand through his hair, completely confused once again. He tilted his head up to the sky and closed his eyes for a few moments as if doing that would give him all the answers.

"Kuroko – " he started, turning his head back down.

But his basketball was sitting on the ground, Kuroko's things were gone, and the boy himself was nowhere to be found.

The next day, at practice, it rained heavily outside.

Kagami watched the coach and the team captain discuss what they could do, and eventually, they scrapped the outdoor cooldown for a scrimmage.

Hearing the other freshmen behind him discuss their unease at playing their upperclassmen who had made it into the finals in their first year of being a team, Kagami scoffed aloud. "Don't be afraid. It's better to play stronger opponents than weaker ones anyways."

The statement wasn't supposed to be a jab at Kuroko, but for some reason, Kagami felt like it was. "Let's go, guys!" he tacked on belatedly, trying to be encouraging.

The murmur of assent from his classmates wasn't exactly reassuring.

Almost right off the bat, Kagami made a dunk. His teammates erupted into cheers – all except Kuroko, that is.

Not that I give a shit.

As the game continued, Kagami continued to score all the points, much to the frustration of the second-years. Kagami also found himself growing irritated at the fact that he was the only one doing any work.

Shit, this is seriously pissing me off! And I'm still on edge from what that kid said yesterday.

As if it were timed perfectly to raise Kagami's ire, the ball was suddenly stolen from Kuroko. For what seems like the thousandth time, Kagami thought furiously. I can't fucking stand weak people!

"Keep it together!" shouted one of their teammates.

For all the big talk yesterday, he can't play for shit. Guys who talk big and then can't follow up really piss me off!

As he thought this, Kagami jumped to defend a dunk and pushed it away at the last second, much to the awe of the other players on the court.

"Nothing can stop him now!" Kagami barely registered what the guy said as he landed on the ground and wiped sweat from his forehead.

However, immediately after the play, the upperclassmen upped the pressure. Kagami found himself surrounded by three guards every time the ball was passed to him. Even when he was just moving around in no-man's-land, Kagami was closely followed by two defenders. Shit, he thought.

Lo and behold, within minutes, the second-years went from losing by three points to winning by sixteen. And Kagami was about ready to punch someone in exasperation. His teammates were already giving up, sighing and leaning on their knees.

"Enough already," one of the freshmen on Kagami's team groaned laboriously, squeezing his eyes shut tight and dripping buckets of sweat onto the gym floor.

Kagami was wound just tightly enough by the tense situation that he abruptly grabbed the unfortunate boy by the numbered yellow jersey he was wearing over his t-shirt and wrenched him forward and up.

"Enough?" he growled into the poor guy's face. "What the hell are you going on about? Are you giving up?"

Kagami only had the brief warning of the guy's eyes widening before the back of his leg was suddenly viciously slammed into from behind, causing his right knee to buckle violently. He reflexively dropped the kid, who scrambled away in stark terror.

"Please calm down," a quiet voice implored, as if being polite would make Kagami forget the fact that he had just been kneed in the back of the leg.

Kagami slowly turned his head around to face his assailant, and of course, it was the one guy on the court that he absolutely could not tolerate.

"Kuroko, you bastard!" Kagami roared wrathfully. "Do you want to die, asshole?! Because that sure as hell can be arranged!"

His classmates were attempting frantically to calm his rage, but Kagami was seeing red. He actually swiped twice at Kuroko's face, fists clenched, but Kuroko just ducked out of the way.

"Please don't kill me, Kagami-kun," Kuroko pleaded emotionlessly, but Kagami was having none of it.

He grabbed Kuroko by the front of his shirt in much the same way he had done to the other kid, and yanked him around like a ragdoll as he yelled. "You've been pissing me off nonstop since yesterday! If we weren't on the same goddamn team, I would rip your fucking face off!"

The coach eventually came over, blowing the whistle with slightly pinked cheeks. "Alright, guys; break it up already. Kagami, cool it down."

Kagami scowled into the serene sapphire eyes of the boy he was nearly strangling, and suddenly, he felt oddly like a little kid throwing a tantrum. Kagami gently set Kuroko down, face somewhat flushed, and said nothing as he was led off of the court to relax for a couple of moments.

The ball was handed back over to the first-years, and Kagami unexpectedly heard Kuroko say, "Excuse me? Could you please just pass me the ball?" to another player.

The guy looked pretty confused, but he made the pass anyways.

Is he a fucking idiot? There is no way that kid will achieve anything.

Kagami stared, disbelieving, but before he could really react, one of his teammates was already receiving the ball and making an easy layup into the basket.

Kagami quickly stood back up, eager. "Can I go back in, Coach? Thanks!" he said without waiting for an answer. He re-entered the court, knowing that the coach was too dumbfounded to answer.

The tables had turned. Kagami couldn't quite figure it out, but passes were suddenly connecting all over the court. And when he rejoined the court, the freshmen were easily taking most of the points. As the game pushed on, Kagami realised that Kuroko was the main link in all of the combination passes. Everyone was scoring points. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how Kuroko was doing it. It's like his presence is so little that no one even notices he's there until it's too late…

Kagami's eyes widened as hope flickered to life once again deep in his chest. This is Kuroko's style of basketball?

Suddenly, the ball smacked into his hands. The basket was wide open, so he made a layup, his mind suddenly focused and understanding.

We're only one point behind -

Kuroko was passed the ball, but there was no one in the vicinity for him to pass to. "Go!" someone shouted. "Win!"

Kuroko dribbled down the court, the upperclassmen nowhere near him. Kagami ran down the court with him, somehow eager. To his dismay, Kuroko missed the shot horribly, bouncing it off the rim. Thankfully, Kagami was already there, saving Kuroko's awful shot with a dunk.

"This is why I hate weak people!" Kagami huffed as he landed on the ground again, bent over and feeling pleasantly warm tingles in his legs. However, he couldn't seem to find that all-consuming anger he'd been overwhelmed with just a few minutes ago. "At least make the shot, you idiot."

He looked up at Kuroko, and as per the usual, Kuroko was already staring right back at him – and with the barest hint of the mere suggestion of a smile, too.

Oddly enough, the sweet warm sensation spread to Kagami's chest in response, so he promptly spun around and walked off to get water, trying to fight down a smile himself.

The same day, Kagami went to Maji Burger again for his dinner, this time ordering an even taller pile of burgers.

I guess Kuroko…isn't exactly as weak as I first thought. We did work really well together against the upperclassmen today, he mused idly as he sunk his teeth into the first burger and stared out the window into the poorly-lit sidewalk.

An odd noise from his left caught Kagami's attention, and he turned to look in that direction, only to find Kuroko sitting across the table from him once again, blatantly staring at him as he quietly sucked on his straw. "Hello," he said.

Kagami flinched backwards and his food caught uncomfortably in his throat. "Where'd you come from?" Kagami demanded once all of his food was swallowed properly. "And what are you doing sitting here again?"

Fucking kid, sneaking up on me like that!

"I was already here," Kuroko said in that quiet tone of his. "You are the one who came and sat at my table. Plus, I really like the vanilla shake here."

Kagami dragged a hand over his face exasperatedly. "Go sit somewhere else."

"No."

He's suicidal. Just look at him. He wants me to kill him.

Kagami restrained himself – just barely – from reaching forward and simply strangling the damn brat. "Don't just assume we're friends now – "

"I wasn't," Kuroko cut him off, eyes sliding down to the overflowing tray of food before darting back up to meet Kagami's exasperated ones. "I was sitting here first, remember?"

Kagami scowled silently at Kuroko, finding himself at a loss for words for some reason. After a long period in which the two teenagers stared at one another in silence, Kagami sighed grudgingly, shrugging. "Here," he mumbled, tossing the quiet boy one of his many cheeseburgers. "You can have one."

If such an expression was even possible on his emotionless face, Kuroko looked somewhat baffled.

"I'm not interested in weak guys," Kagami repeated his words from yesterday. "But," he looked down at all the food on his tray. "I'll acknowledge that you're worth one piece of all that."

After a beat, Kuroko replied quietly, "Um…thank you."

The odd pair ate in relative silence for a while, the only audible noises being Kagami's chewing and Kuroko's occasional nibbles and contented sips.

About fifteen or so minutes later, the two were leaving the restaurant together.

"How strong is the Generation of Miracles?" Kagami asked as they reached the slightly wet sidewalk. Kuroko looked up at him blankly, and Kagami clarified, smirking. "Like…if I played against them right now, what do you think would happen?"

Kuroko looked down at the cup which held the remnants of his vanilla shake, hesitating for a few moments. "You would be instantly killed," he eventually said.

Kagami reflexively flinched, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. "Couldn't you say that in a nicer way?"

Kuroko continued walking past for a moment, but suddenly he paused. "Not really. The five Miracles all have overwhelming talents in different areas. They have also each joined different veteran schools this year. Naturally, one of those schools will definitely be at the top."

Kagami smirked, and then he started laughing boisterously, causing Kuroko to turn and face him unsurely.

"All the better, then!" Kagami exclaimed. "I'm burning now!"

He looked down at Kuroko, who showed no change in expression in response to Kagami's passion. "I've decided," Kagami said resolutely. "I will take all of those guys down, and I will become the number one player in Japan."

Kuroko said nothing for a while. He just stood there, perceptive blue eyes seeming to search for something in Kagami's gaze. Eventually, he took one last sip of his shake. "I think that's impossible."

What?

"What?" Kagami demanded, offended – and kind of wounded, if he was being totally honest.

"I don't know your full potential, but at your current level, you couldn't hold a candle to any of them," Kuroko said.

Kagami frowned, but didn't say anything, sensing that Kuroko still had more to say.

"What I mean is that it's impossible for you, alone. I have decided something as well," Kuroko admitted, eyes on the concrete. "I obviously realise that I am nothing more than a supporting character… a shadow."

"However, if the light is stronger, a shadow does become darker. And the darkness of the shadow will help the light become stronger." Kagami's frown grew slightly confused, interested to know where Kuroko was going with this odd speech.

"As the shadow of the main character, I will make you, my light, the best in Japan," Kuroko finally finished, his eyes suddenly very sharp as the wind tossed his bangs and the bright, artificial light of a passing car lit up his boyish features.

Kagami's heart stuttered, and his breath caught at the stanch determination he saw in that gaze. Then he laughed shortly, still a bit thrown off his game by the bold claim the normally soft-spoken boy had made. "Nice words there. You gonna follow up this time, though?"

Kuroko smiled again, that barely-there, once-in-a-lifetime curve of his lips. "I will do my best."

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this. Kagami is far easier to write than Ciel or Light, so...I enjoyed it, haha. Here's the deal with Absum; it's a lot lighter than most of the other stories I'll write. In addition, Kuroko may seem a bit...different from the canon Kuroko. Anyways, the second chapter is already on the shelf for whenever I feel the need to post (don't worry, I won't keep you waiting for too long). Thanks for reading!